Golden Exploitation
by Kyashu
Summary: Terra's tired of running.


Two stories written in a week, I think that's a new record. So I had wondered exactly how Slade convinced Terra to work with him so I decided to write how I think it happened. This is unbeta'd so if you see any mistakes please let me know.

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><p>The sun is high in the sky and unrelenting. The desert air shimmers with heat. Hiding in the scarce shade provided by a rock formation, Terra pants and tries to rest. She wishes she hadn't lost her backpack. Terra is parched, completely dehydrated. This could only be a short rest because she was being hunted by something equally unrelenting.<p>

She's tired, the kind of tired that aches to her bones, that aches to her soul. She had always run from her problems, but this was the first time something had truly pursued her.

Unable to help herself, Terra sleeps and dreams of the past. She dreams of castles and betrayal and fear. There are earthquakes and rockslides, mud and dirt and sand. There are people who smile in welcome and then they chase her away again, possible friends and inevitable heartache. And she just wishes it would all end.

She feels him coming. He's not even trying to hide. "Slade," she rasps out in a tone she wishes was intimidating, but it only sounds like she's dying of thirst. She probably is.

"Terra," he replies as nonchalantly as can be. He looks as if the sun and heat doesn't bother him at all, despite being covered head to toe in black body armor. It should be a crime to look this comfortable while someone dies of thirst in front of him. That's probably why he's a criminal.

"What," she clears her throat and tries to gather as much saliva as she can. Terra's tired and angry and uncomfortable and all of this gives her the strength to put on an act she hopes is convincing. "What do you want? Are you here to taunt me? Say 'I told you so'? Well I don't want to hear it so get lost!"

Terra summons all the strength she can muster, but her exhaustion and dehydration have weakened her to the point of near uselessness. She can only levitate a couple of rocks about the size of skipping stones, not that different from the ones at the Tower. Slade looks as phased as a man with only one eye of his entire face visible, which is not phased at all. He knocks away the rocks with a twitch of his hand. They do not skip; they only sink into the sand.

"What do you want, Terra?"

The question surprises her. She starts, momentum that was going to be used to either fight or flee leaves her, making her collapse to her knees in a tired slump. Staring at the dry, yellow land around her Terra wants to cry, but finds she doesn't have the moisture necessary for even that.

_What does she want?_ When's the last time someone asked that? When's the last time someone _meant_ that? Terra wants the impossible, to go home. But if she can't have that she wants just to be somewhere where she's accepted; somewhere where she doesn't have to worry about her powers sinking a town in an earthquake or burying it under mud and stone. She wants that potential acceptance and happiness she caught a glimpse of with the Titans and she doesn't want it to be pulled out from under her again.

She's torn from her thoughts by an object impacting in the sand in front of her. It's a plain canteen. She glares at Slade with suspicion in her eyes. He's a bad guy, for all she knows it could be poison.

Again Slade is unconcerned by any threat Terra may be to him. He makes a gesture similar to a shrug, but not quite. "It's just water. If I wanted you dead Terra I could just let the desert do it for me."

Terra can't find faults in that logic. She snatches the canteen as if she fears it's booby-trapped and quickly unscrews the cap. She gulps down the water as fast as she can. It leaks out the sides of her mouth with how fast it's pouring out and she feels some distress at the fact that she's losing it.

The last of the water was either swallowed or had dripped into the dirt. Panting more from exertion and wanting more, Terra looks to Slade again. "Why are you helping me?"

Slade walks over to her and kneels so he's at her eye level. "I meant what I said before. You are amazingly powerful, but you need to be taught control. I'm sure you're tired of running, Terra." He brushes the hair that had fallen in her face back behind her ear. "If you let me teach you, you'll never feel the need to run again."

Terra wants to believe him so badly. She makes no effort to hide her hopeful expression. Still though, "But the Titans –"

"The Titans are just children. They can barely control themselves, how could they possibly control you? Beast Boy can't even control his mouth."

Terra flinches back at a reminder of Beast Boy's betrayal. She had trusted him. Maybe she's trusted the wrong people for too long.

She looks into Slade's only visible eye and smiles. "When do we start?"


End file.
